FOLLOW THE MONEY

Allen Munck, Eatons Hill, Qld

THE introduction of a selfdriven vehicle is not something I see happening in the mainstream.

Governments across Australia are estimated to make $3 million a day from speeding fines. In Queensland, tickets of up to $150 are now being issued for driving only 4km/h over the limit, adding quite a considerable boost to the state’s coffers. I agree every kilometre over the limit is a potential killer, but also every kilometre over is dollars for governments.

Sat-nav systems already have alerts that advise us when we are entering a new speed zone or exceeding the limit in an area. Autonomous cars would obviously work on the same technology, meaning that they technically cannot speed and you should never expect to receive a speeding ticket.

So where does that leave the governments and their $3 million per day? Safety increases, great, but the bottom falls out of the revenue bucket. The loss of that amount of income would be disastrous.

How would they fund and maintain roads for the autonomous vehicles to drive on? The loss of that income could well be the big nail in the coffin right there!